Hello,
And welcome to the Daily Insight.
My name is Giovanni Dienstmann.
I am a meditation teacher and the author of Practical Meditation.
Today's practice introduces you to the power of letting go,
Which is an essential skill for living well and having peace of mind.
May this meditation be the beginning of a shift for you.
Breathe out fully by making a forceful sound of Ah.
Then breathing deeply and slowly and hold it there.
While holding your breath,
Contract all the muscles of your legs and feet.
Now let go and exhale fully.
A second time,
Breathe in.
Hold and contract all the muscles of your hands,
Arms and shoulder.
And breathe out and relax.
Third time,
Breathe in.
Hold and contract all muscles in your face.
And breathe out and relax fully.
Now breathe normally through your nose.
Notice the sensations of relaxation in your body the sense of lightness and fluidity.
Observe how your body feels from the inside.
Then bring in the thought or memory of the thing you want to let go of.
If it is an action that you did,
Remember it vividly,
With all its consequences.
If it is connected to a person or event,
Remember that in all its details.
Bring in all the thoughts,
Memories,
Feelings connected to that which you want to let go of.
Let it all be there at once.
Thanks.
Now observe what's happening in you.
Has any tension crept into your body?
Perhaps a tightness on your chest.
Or a strange feeling in the stomach.
Or a sense of heating up and restlessness in your nerves.
Notice it.
Has any tension manifested in your mind?
Perhaps it is a repetitive and annoying thought.
Or the sense that there is something pulling you or pushing you around.
Or scenes coming up uninvited.
Now this is it.
Don't run away from the feelings or the memories.
Accept that it happened.
And it feels the way it feels.
See the whole of it.
The broken expectations.
The pain.
The confusion.
The stickiness of those thoughts.
The difficulty in letting go.
Now,
While keeping the memory and the thought of that event still alive in you,
Consciously relax.
Start with your body.
Consciously relaxed attentions related to this event,
One by one.
See where in your body these thoughts and feelings are living.
And focus your awareness on that part of the body.
I have the intention to gently relax and calm it down.
With every exhalation,
You let go of those tensions.
Breathing in,
You are aware of it.
Breathing out,
You let go.
Now do the same with your mind.
Find where the tensions are and stay with them.
Releasing with every exhalation.
Until you're done.
Let those tensions in your mind evaporate into nothingness.
Let the knots in your heart open by themselves.
You may find it helpful to mentally repeat.
It's okay now.
It's okay.
Or I let go.
It feels good to let go.
It feels right to let go.
Use whatever affirmations work for you.
Stay in this process for as long as you need to.
Releasing the tensions in your body,
Mind and heart.
Once you are done,
Rest in this new space for a while.
Notice how you are now more capable of being aware of that event,
That thought or that person,
Without reacting so strongly to it.
The thought or memory may still be there,
But it has lost power.
It is now colorless.
You now know that you are able to witness intense emotions and painful memories,
Difficult thoughts and hard situations.
While at the same time releasing all the tensions in your body and mind.
And simply being present to it You can tap into this ability anytime you need.
This short meditation teaches you how to let go by recognizing without contracting.
If you want to go deeper.
Then I recommend you listen to the 20-minute version of this daily insight,
Which covers a different exercise.
Then,
Choose one of these two versions to practice it daily for 21 days,
So that you can really master the skill of letting go.
This will make a difference for you.
Now please share with us in the comments,
What is the one word that defines how you feel after this meditation?
